


Redemption Song

by Its_Always_1895



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Afterlife, F/M, Gen, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 16:36:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Always_1895/pseuds/Its_Always_1895
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How what we learn can lead to condemnation or redemption.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redemption Song

            _Once you start down the dark path_ _, forever will it dominate your destiny._

 

 

            Such were the words that were passed down from master to padwan. There was no return from the darkness, Sith were unredeemable, one who joined the darkness was forever lost.

 

 

            _Once you start down the dark path_ _, forever will it dominate your destiny._

 

 

_Still,_ Anakin thought, _could it hurt to ask? Maybe, maybe it wasn’t that iron-cast. Maybe other people had slipped before but it had been temporary. Maybe there is some way to confess and seek absolution. Maybe…_

 

 

“Master?”

 

 

“Yes?”

 

 

“Is it ever, I mean, I know that being a Sith is wrong and unforgivable but, is it possible to, well not undo, but be freed from the dark after you use it?” Anakin Skywalker asked his master.

 

 

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment here. His first instinct was to repeat what he had been taught all of his life. But something in the way Anakin asked and the haunted, hopeful look in his eyes made him think twice. Clearly there was more here than a rhetorical question. But Anakin was already cocky and self-assured. The last thing he needed was to give his headstrong apprentice the idea he could dabble freely in the dark without consequence. Anakin’s arrogance combined with his recklessness caused Obi-Wan to fear that Anakin would consider himself the exception to the rule if he gave any wiggle room at all.

 

 

And so he passed on the lesson that had fully embedded itself in the minds of the Order of centuries. His apprentice asked a few questions before nodding. That, Kenobi hoped, was the end of that and he did not think of it again. Obi-Wan did not realize that his padwan had merely resolved to hide the failure on Tatooine, one that the young man had already shared with Palaptine. He had no way of knowing that it was the first of many hidden slips that would all remained concealed for the same fear of condemnation.

 

 

_Once you start down the dark path_ _, forever will it dominate your destiny._

 

 

Three years later Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in front of Jedi Grand Master Yoda being reminded of this himself. The Temple was empty save them two and the bodies left on the floor. He was begging the old master not to send him after the new Sith Lord. How could he fight Anakin?

 

 

“The boy you trained... gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader,” was the old master’s response. And so Obi-Wan solemnly nodded his head. Yes, he knew that, didn’t he? He repeated this to himself as he left the Temple, when he spoke to Amidala, when he arrived on a planet that looked like most cultures’ ideas of hell…

 

 

When he stood looking down at the body that once housed his brother his memories stopped him from striking the final blow, but the lesson layered with the inane self-righteousness of the order stopped him from trying to bring Anakin back. Twenty years later, that same lesson caused him to try to stop Luke from doing so.

 

 

“You **were** my brother. I **loved** you,” Obi-Wan cried, though he still loved his brother, and didn’t realize that his words painted his love as conditional. He took Anakin’s saber knowing Anakin would understand he was no longer a Jedi.

.

.

.

.

_To forgive someone is to give a prisoner the key to his chains._

 

 

Such was the lesson passed down from parent to child. At the heart of forgiveness was love, life wasn’t fair, but it was still good, miracles came from faith, not faith from miracles.

 

 

_To forgive someone is to give a prisoner the key to his chains._

 

 

“But what if they don’t use the key? What if they keep doing bad things?” Luke Skywalker asked his aunt.

 

 

“Someone has to choose to be forgiven. Some do. Some don’t. It could be because its easier to hate and be hated because hate makes you feel strong and in control. Or perhaps they were never strong enough to forgive and either can’t believe that someone else can or can’t admit that someone is stronger. Or they feel doing so will obligate them to their forgiver. Or maybe because accepting forgiveness also means they have to accept that they were wrong. “

 

 

Luke solemnly nodded, accepting her words and understanding them with all the childish wisdom acquired over his eight years of life.

 

 

“Another group of people that don’t accept forgiveness are those who don’t believe they deserve it. And they’re right. No one deserves forgiveness. This overlaps with your second question as well, about if the person keeps doing bad things. Both you and this group have confused forgiveness with redemption. Someone who has been forgiven might not be redeemed; they’ve done nothing to earn your trust and don’t seem inclined to change. Someone who has been redeemed might not be forgiven; the victim maybe be unable to let go of their hate because hate feels strong and good even as it destroys the person holding on to it.” Beru smiled gently at her confused looking charge. She softly concluded, “Forgiveness is given. Redemption is earned. And only through both is salvation complete.”

 

 

_To forgive someone is to give a prisoner the key to his chains._

 

 

Fifteen years later Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker stood with his back to Sith Lord Darth Vader and reminded himself of this. The hallway was empty save the two of them and the indigenous life on Endor. He was begging his father to turn away from the old Sith Master and come with him. How could he fight his father?

 

 

“It couldn’t be done. He is more machine now than man,” had been his old mentor’s belief. But he shook his head. He couldn’t believe that, could he? Instead he repeated his aunt’s words as he left for Endor, when he spoke to his sister, when he turned himself into a man that most beings in the galaxy regarded as a monster…

 

 

When he stood looking up at the armor that trapped the man that had once been his father his memories told him to abandon his dreams and regard the man as the evil villain of this story, but the lessons layered with the steady hope and perseverance of the desert dwellers stopped him from giving up. That same lesson insured he would not let his father resign himself to darkness either.

 

 

“Please Father, free yourself,” Luke whispered in his mind, knowing that his father heard the words anyways and could feel Luke’s forgiveness. He hoped that Vader would understand that he had been given the key to his chains.

.

.

.

.

In the afterlife they all watched that last clash, waiting to see if light or darkness would win. Most there said it was another battle in the age-old war of Sith (Vader and Palpatine) and Jedi (Luke). Either evil or good would win with no question of who was which. A few believed the confrontation was between Luke and Palpatine with Vader being a wild card that could fall on either side. There was no question if he was dark or light of course, but with him there was always the possibility that his infamous family loyalty might come into play. A few that were neither Jedi nor Sith nor properly educated advanced the ludicrous theory that the conflict was within Vader himself, if he would stay dark or return to light. This was quickly put to rest by the wiser heads there who assured them that such a thing simply wasn’t possible.

 

 

Beru and her husband stood with the rest of the Skywalker/Naberrie/Lars family. She noticed though that Obi-Wan stood a little away from the other Jedi and did not join them in condemning Anakin.

 

 

There was a collective gasp as Luke tossed away his saber. There were murmurs of approval as he proclaimed himself a Jedi, though most there didn’t think he should have included his father in his statement. Then Palatine reacted to the brave child’s words. Padme screamed as her son was thrown under Sith lightening while Shmi began to weep and Beru and Owen clung to each other. Many there shook their heads and turned away, convinced the battle had been lost due to the boy naïveté.

 

 

“Father, please help me.”

 

 

“Please, Ani” Padme begged. She looked like she wanted to jump into the real world and change the outcome herself. Shmi had mentioned how hard it was for the queen-turned-senator when she arrived to realize that she could no longer influence the world as she once did, and Beru could see clearly that her mother-in-law had spoken the truth.

 

 

Then there were cries of shock and surprise as Vader moved with all the speed, impulsiveness, and determination that had characterized him since childhood. The Emperor had no time to prepare; the Force could give him no warning of danger in time as Vader was moving even as he made his decision.

 

 

There were moments of silence as the watchers saw Palaptine’s death. Then someone said, “he’s dead.”

 

 

That obvious statement opened the floodgates. There were prayers of thanks and rejoicing. Relief and triumph showed themselves clearly in the crowd. Excided murmurs flew through the group. Luke’s gamble had paid off! Vader had chosen his loyalty to his family over his loyalty to the other Sith.

 

 

Beru didn’t know who noticed it first, but soon a new revelation rippled through the gathered. He was light! Vader was light! How was that possible? Heated debates sprung up next to excited exclamations as the impossible realized itself before their eyes.

 

 

Beru gently touched her husband’s arm to communicate she was moving away, then went to stand next to the master of her nephew and brother-in-law, the Jedi who had told Luke that he should not attempt to save his father, that it was a hopeless task, but who also refused to denounce Anakin when his brethren were lining up to do so.

 

 

They made an interesting comparison to those who looked that way.  Both were dressed in humble brown, both showed the trails of their life and their weatherworn skin bore testament to their time in the deserts of Tatooine. And yet, the way they held themselves, (both with authority, hers much softer than his) the way they were regarded by those nearby, (the Jedi Master of Darth Vader with respect by some and scorn by others, the farmer’s wife looked over) the way they watched as Anakin spoke his last words, (him with hope mixed with stunned disbelief, her with quiet joy and acceptance) showed clearly their differences.

 

 

Beru spoke first and despite the noise in the background there seemed to be a silence around them so he heard her perfectly.

 

 

“Did you ever try to bring him back?”

 

 

“Of course I tried. On Mustafar… ”

 

 

“And yet you told Luke that he could not be saved.”

 

 

“I didn’t want Luke to throw his life away or build plans on impossible dreams.” He exhaled, “I had always hoped that Anakin would come back, but never truly believed it was possible.”

 

 

“Ah,” Beru said, nodding, “that would be why then.”

**Author's Note:**

> After Yoda lifted the X-wing out of the swamp Luke said he “didn’t believe it,” and Yoda’s response was, “that is why you fail.” I was trying to reference that here as Obi-Wan’s failure bring back Anakin. Sometimes people need to learn the lessons they teach.


End file.
